Three scientists from Keck Medicine of USC have won grants exceeding $4.3 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for research that includes creating a temporary liver for patients, finding novel ways to treat immune disorders and blood diseases, and developing new animal models for heart failure, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. The grants, …
Scientist Amy Ryan has never lived according to a fixed plan. Instead, she has followed where life has led her—to a position as an assistant professor of medicine and stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at USC, studying lung diseases ranging from cystic fibrosis to COVID-19. Ryan’s original plan had little to do with lung …
USC scientists are testing out experimental COVID-19 treatments on human “mini-lungs” and lung models, grown in the laboratory using stem cells. With names such as organoids and lung-chips, these simplified, lung-like structures are critically useful for studying infection and for screening large numbers of drug-like molecules to identify promising leads. Ya-Wen Chen—a new assistant professor …
Growing stem cells isn’t just something junior faculty do in the lab. Eight of the junior faculty in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine recently welcomed new babies into their families—more than half of them within the past year. Here, our junior faculty parents share their joy and wisdom about balancing career …
Students and trainees took center stage at the annual retreat for USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. They presented their latest research to the 180 stem cell scientists who gathered at the event, held at the Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook, California this September.
“The process of disease is about detail,” said Larry Goldstein, the director of the stem cell program at the University of California, San Diego, and keynote speaker at the retreat for USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Held on October 20 and 21 at the Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook, California, the …
The price of progress is not only the energy and talent of stem cell scientists, but also the research dollars that support their discoveries. In recent months, faculty members have secured numerous grants to support stem cell-based approaches to study and treat illnesses ranging from osteoarthritis to Alzheimer’s disease to cystic fibrosis. Here are a …
What happens when you pair 14 artists with 14 USC biomedical researchers? The answer is currently on display at the Hoyt Gallery on the Health Sciences Campus of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
As a USC Stem Cell scientist studying lung disease, Amy Firth has done her alma mater proud. An alumna of the University of Bath, Firth has earned a coveted place as a finalist for the 2017 Alumni Awards from the British Council, a UK charity promoting cultural relations and educational opportunities. The awards celebrate the …
To understand organ development, maintenance and repair, and to model disease, tissue engineering can enable unique experimental approaches. In a recent study in the journal Biomaterials, Daniel Tschumerplin’s laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, grew a mix of fluorescently tagged human lung cells in a semi-solid matrix.
Cells regulate their gene activity and differentiation by “methylating” DNA—adding carbon and hydrogen atoms to modify the DNA code. In a recent Cell publication, researchers from the Jaenisch laboratory used a precise DNA recognition system, CRISPR/Cas9, to remove or add methylation at specific genomic sequences.
Physicians and leading scientists from across the country gathered recently to celebrate the inauguration of the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Hastings Center for Pulmonary Research. More than 100 people attended the symposium, titled “The Pulmonary Challenge: Innovations in Lung Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration,” held March 11 in the Aresty Auditorium on the …
